RFS Manager Review

I have had a fantastic experience with IBM. From the start of my placement in early July, I was given a great amount of responsibility which continued to develop throughout the year. My manager was consistently helpful and supportive, while allowing me to have a great deal of freedom with my work. As I continued to gain confidence and the knowledge of my role, I was taking on additional tasks within the business which continued to challenge me and provide me with more responsibility. My role was primarily client focussed which, although daunting at first, has provided me with a number of skills which I will carry forward in my future career.

During my time in my role, I found a culture where receiving feedback and praise was very common and encouraged. Throughout the year I was being recognised for the work I was providing which continued to motivate me in my role. This was incredibly useful when organising written feedback for period assessments within IBM, and also with my university.

As mentioned, my manager would continually provide a great deal of support and guidance during my placement. From the beginning she was directly involved in getting me up to speed with my role and encouraged meeting up regularly with her team since we worked at different IBM locations. She was always willing to help if I was unsure or confused, which considerably help me learn my role fully. To continue to challenge me she continually encouraged I undertake more responsibility on the account, and helped me gain further experience on other accounts. My manager really boosted my confidence during my placement and has helped me have an amazing time with IBM.

Majority of the time, I was kept busy on the accounts and had a decent amount of work to complete daily. During the December and January holiday period, this work did decline which left me with spare capacity to undertake additional work. IBM encourages volunteering and getting involved in activities outside of your role which was perfect when things slowed down on the rare occasion. During my time I was able to provide talks to schools, run assessment centres and work with primary schools which IBM work with to provide experience and encourage creative thinking.

As the year progressed I was given increasing amounts of responsibility. During my first week I was meeting with clients and attending client calls. This direct interaction with external clients was an amazing experience and has given me a number of skills I continued to use on my placements. As I got more confident with the role, I was provided with additional responsibility with my manager and later in the year, began taking on additional responsibility with other managers and accounts. This was a great opportunity to reinforce the knowledge I gained

This year has provided me a great insight into the workplace. I have been able to see how my experience will help with my studies where I can draw on my experience in my final year. More importantly my year with IBM has given me a great deal of skills and experience which I will be able to apply to future roles.

IBM works predominantly on a hot desk system where you are not allocated a specific desk. Some teams will be allocated a space but as my team were working in different locations I had to work at a desk that was available. Although not a major issue, this was sometime a nuisance to find a decent space. As a result I felt that people who don’t work directly with their team every day, the atmosphere was sometimes isolating. However I would regularly meet up with my teams and other interns to work together which improved the atmosphere.

I personally have found the placement scheme very well run. Every intern is allocated an Early Professionals Manager who manages intern development and conducts period reviews throughout the year. I found that this would have been useful in case I had any issues with my role or my team. My role was very well organised, and the community I worked with greatly depend on interns to make their part of the business a success. However I found other interns did not have the same level of experience I have had, but personally I found the scheme and the role to be very well organised.

In terms of the direct role I was doing I received a great deal of training and education surrounding my tasks. This was important in helping me understand the importance of my role and how my tasks were depended upon. Although other opportunities were available where interns can get additional education in subjects outside of their role, the places were often limited and difficult to get on. A lot of online resources were available but I found it hard to find capacity to fit this into my daily role.

I found that future employment prospects are great in IBM. During the final couple of months of the year, a final presentation and assessment takes place based on your performance throughout the year. Depending on the performance, this can greatly help get onto a graduate scheme within the organisation. Outside of IBM, the placement scheme provides a great deal of experience and skills which can be easily transferred if you want to get a job outside of IBM

Due to the large number of interns who work at IBM there is a strong community feel, especially at the Southbank office. At the beginning of the year, there is a 2 day induction with other interns which is great to form contacts with interns working in various roles across the business. Although this is organised by the interns, there have been a couple of events help to reunite all the interns as well. Although not held regularly, there have been a few organised events at local bars in my extended team.

I was based in the Southbank office and living in south London. Due to the location, the cost of living was expensive and as a result difficult to do activities on a regular basis. I would recommend if possible that students live from home if possible, especially if working in the London area. In addition, lunches and evenings are likely to be expensive in the area

Due to living and working in London, there is lots to choose. During the first few weeks, interns would regularly meet once a week near the office but this became more casual as the year went on. Due to the location, nightlife is expensive so definitely worth taking into account if expecting to go out regularly.

IBM offers a number of extra opportunities outside of the regular role. The most exciting opportunity is working with the IBM project teams during the Wimbledon tournament. Throughout the year, there are a number of other volunteering activities to be involved such as school programmes and running assessment centres. It is encouraged to get involved as much as possible to get the most out of the placement year